"This commitment is part of the Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) agreement for the 2016 to 2020 period," Indonesia`s Finance Minister, Bambang Brodjonegoro said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has agreed to a US$824 million loan commitment to be extended to Indonesia to finance various programs that will help develop infrastructure, education and electrical power plants.

"This commitment is part of the Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) agreement for the 2016 to 2020 period," Indonesias Finance Minister, Bambang Brodjonegoro said during a press conference held on the sidelines of the 41st Annual Meeting of IsDB on Thursday.

IsDB and Indonesia signed a loan agreement worth US$5.2 billion within the framework of MCPS on Tuesday to support the development of physical infrastructure, an inclusive sharia compliant financial sector, and support for regional integration directed toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Nearly 3.2 billion of the US$5.2 billion loan commitment will come from the IsDB, US$1.8 billion from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and US$200 million from the Islamic Corporation for The Development of The Private Sector (ICD).

About US$176.5 million of the loan commitment will be allocated to educational projects at the Ageng Tirtayasa University in Serang, the State University in Malang, the State University in Jember and the Mulawarman University in Samarinda.

In addition, the loan will be used to finance social infrastructure projects, including the restoration of slums in 180 regions at a cost of US$329.6 million and construction of electricity transmissions worth US$330 million.

"To develop the electricity transmission worth US$330 million, administrative problems still have to be resolved, so the signing of the loan agreement has been postponed. However, the project will continue in the near future," Bambang said.

Overall, on the last day of the annual meeting on Thursday, IsDB and member states signed agreements to fund development programs worth US$1.6 billion.

As many as 14 countries received funding, including Indonesia at US$824 million, Gambia at US$280 million for a rural health program, Cameroon at US$157 million for a road and transportation project, and Chad at US$152 million for a road and transportation project.

The other recipients are Gabon, which got US$120 million for a basic health service program, Iran US$104 million for an irrigation network program, Burkina Faso US$99.5 million for a road and agricultural development, and Nigeria, which was loaned US$84 million for electrical power projects.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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